Wild Girl
by Ghostwriter
Summary: It's graduation day and the Venturis are about to learn that they don't know Casey at all.
1. Graduation

WILD GIRL

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

This is the sequel to "Cut From The Same Cloth" and is a crossover between Life With Derek and Mutant X. Mutant X was a show about four twenty-something characters who had special powers because of a genetics research experiment that their parents had been involved in the eighties. There were four basic types of powers: feral, molecular, elemental, and tele-empath. The four core characters were Jesse Kilmartin (molecular, he could phase so that a person's hand would go right through him or mass which essentially turned his body into a brick wall. He was later able to phase other objects and people), Shalimar Fox (feral, she had the instincts and agility of a cat, though she looks normal. When upset, her eyes would turn yellow, she was later able to fend off attacks without even looking), Brennan Mulwray (elemental, could summon and control electricity with his fingers, was later able to use this power to push himself into the air via a form of "jetting)), and Emma DeLauro (tele-empath, she could sense others' emotions which were often portrayed metaphorically, was later able to produce a white ball of light on her forehead which she could use to knock people out). Their mentor and leader was a human scientist named Adam Kane. Later they were joined by Lexa Pierce (like Brennan, she was elemental, though instead of generating electricity, she was able to bend light to make herself and others invisible). Here's the background for the story: in 1990, Brennan had a relationship with Jessica Young, a feral, which resulted in Casey being born. Jessica didn't want to be a mother, and just left Casey with Brennan. In 2001 (when Casey was eleven), Brennan joined Mutant X. Brennan and Shalimar became very close and Casey began to view Shalimar as her mother, and she saw Jesse as an uncle and Emma and later Lexa as aunts and Adam as a grandpa. Casey is a cross between Brennan and Shalimar power-wise. In 2005 (when Casey was fifteen), Mutant X was forced into hiding and Casey was placed with Nora and Dennis who were family friends of Adam's for safekeeping. For those of you who know the series, I am ignoring Emma's death as well as the expiration date and creator angles, and I'm taking out the Dominion. This starts with Futuritis which is in 2009, though I'm putting my own take on it. Casey is really a Mulwray but she used "MacDonald" as part of her cover. For communications, she has the phone Derek gave her in "The Pox Father" and a comlink that Adam made for her when she and Brennan joined Mutant X. I am making up Casey's valedictorian speech. LWD belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Fireworks Entertainment, and Tribune. I only own the plot. I'm having everyone seated alphabetically for convenience and that's how we did it at mine (to the best of my recollection anyways). And I just realized I had Emily's name wrong. It's not Davids, it's Davis. Sorry.

Casey blew out a breath as she and her best friend, Emily Davis walked down the steps of Sir John Sparrow Thompson High.

"Can you believe we're going to be graduating?" Emily asked. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a sleeveless yellow jacket, brown corduroys, and black loafers.

"I know. Finally, right?" Casey asked. She was wearing a green blouse, pale blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. _Then I can shed this stupid façade and go home…hopefully_, she thought to herself. She really missed Mom and Dad. Then, they were joined by Casey's stepbrother, Derek Venturi, and his best friend, Sam Richards, who were being shadowed by Ralph Papadopolous. Sam was wearing a simple outfit of a plain white t-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of Keds while Ralph was wearing a shirt with a sports design, his purple fake vinyl pants, and white sneakers.

"GRADUATION!" Derek bellowed. He was wearing a brown shirt which was covered by his customary black leather jacket, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers. "This is gonna be awesome! Finally we're getting out of this school!" he exclaimed. Casey couldn't help the laugh that escaped as Sam just shook his head. _Oh, he's crazy_, she thought. She was so glad that their fights had tapered off into something more sibling-like. It was much better than them trying to kill each other. Just then, her boyfriend, Curtis Valentine, walked up to them.

"Hey, babe," he greeted, slipping his arm around her waist. He was wearing a black t-shirt that was covered by his motorcycle jacket that was black with red patches on the elbow, dark blue jeans, and his black motorcycle boots.

"Hey," she acknowledged, placing her hand on his, summoned a small amount of energy and directed it at him, causing him to jump slightly.

"Mean," he complained. It hadn't hurt a whole lot, but it **had** startled him.

"Don't call me, 'babe'," she reminded.

"Sorry," he apologized. Sam, Emily, Derek, and Ralph just shook their heads. Over the past year, ever since the two had started dating, they had witnessed a change in their friend. She didn't stress out about her grades as much, she had loosened up a bit, and they had discovered that she could take a jibe and then dish it right back. However, there **were** some things that had remained the same and her dislike of names that she felt were demeaning was one of them.

"It's fine. Just don't do it again," she told him. With that, they all headed for their cars and went home. Once they were home, Casey went to her room, pulled out her cell phone, and dialed a number, waiting until the phone connected before speaking.

"Hey, it's me. Everything's cool. I got everything for graduation squared away, including my special request and we're graduating this Friday. Anyway, I hope you guys can make it, but if you can't that's okay; I know you'll be thinking of me. Love you guys, bye," she said and then hung up. Then, she sat at her desk and started working on her valedictorian speech. Meanwhile, Derek was on his phone, talking to Sam.

"So, you ready for graduation, man?" Sam asked.

"I think so. I mean, I've got all the credits I need, and I've been buckling down, which makes my dad happy, and-" Derek began to say.

"Okay, I get it. You're physically prepared, but mentally, how you doing?" Sam interrupted.

"I'm a nervous wreck, man. I mean, despite what I've been telling everybody, graduation's a big deal and I haven't always been boy scholar. So, what if they decide that I don't have high enough grades to graduate? I mean staying back in elementary school's one thing, but having to repeat grade 12?" Derek asked.

"D, relax. You'll be fine. Besides, who else would be able to pull off the massive prank you're planning?" Sam reminded. Derek chuckled.

"True," he agreed.

"When are you going to do it?"

"I promised Dad and Nora that I wouldn't do anything until after Casey's speech."

"That's probably a good idea."

"Yeah." They continued to talk and Derek's mind wandered. He couldn't believe he was actually graduating! A large part of it was due to Sally. He knew that, and he was **definitely** going to miss her when she went to the states. Then, his thoughts drifted towards Casey and he frowned. What was up with her? After following her and Curtis to a place known as _Delancey's Gym_, they had discovered that they were considered VIP's, though she refused to reveal how they had gotten that status when he and Emily had questioned her, even lashing out at them verbally for 'spying' as she called it. He sighed. She was right, but it was merely because they were both worried about her, even if he didn't want to admit it. Ever since Curtis had come to town, she had been acting strange. Then, he became aware of Sam's voice again.

"D, are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?"

"That would be a 'no'."

"Sorry. I just keep thinking about what Emily and I saw a few nights ago."

"Oh, you mean at that gym?"

"Yeah. It was weird, man. You should've seen Emily's face when Casey was yelling at us. It was pretty nasty." Even though he knew his friend couldn't see it, Sam shook his head. He wasn't sure what was going on with his ex-girlfriend himself. The mere fact that she had just jumped into a relationship with Curtis practically the minute she met him worried him. It just wasn't like her.

"Well, we'll just have to keep an eye on her I guess."

"Yeah." Then, they hung up and Derek turned to his own preparations and trying to put his stepsister's odd behavior out of his mind. For the next few days, the two put the finishing touches on their plans. When Friday finally came, both Casey and Derek were nervous wrecks, but for different reasons.

"I still can't believe I made valedictorian," Casey said as Derek drove them to school.

"You got your speech, right?" Derek asked. _What is she freaking out for? She'll be fine_, he thought to himself.

"Well, yeah, after I started over," Casey answered.

"Started over? What was wrong with it the first time?" Derek asked. _Probably nothing. It's just her perfectionism rearing her head again_, he thought.

"It didn't really say what I wanted to say," Casey answered.

"Oh," Derek said. When they finally got to the school, they went to get their graduation gowns and caps. Then, they got in line. As they got closer to the stage, Casey fiddled with her cap and looked out at the audience. After looking around for a few minutes, she spotted George, Nora, Lizzie, Edwin, Marti, and some of the other MacDonald/Venturi relatives.

"Case?" she looked behind her to see Curtis who had moved out of his spot in line. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I was just hoping…" her voice trailed off, but he understood. She had been hoping her parents could make it.

"You know they'd be here if they could."

"Yeah, I know." He squeezed her shoulder, and then got back into his spot in line. Feeling her cap falling, she readjusted it, reached into a pocket, palmed a paperclip, and hooked the cap to her hair. She glanced at the spot where Nora, George, and the others were, and then frowned when she realized that Edwin was missing. Then, they walked onto the stage and sat down as Principal Lassiter began talking. As the man droned on, Casey tried to pay attention, but found herself once more searching the audience. _Dang. I guess it's just not safe for them_, she thought to herself.

"But enough from me. You can now move your tassels from the right to the left," Principal Lassiter told them. Instantly, all of the graduates did so. To Emily's surprise, the tassels came off in her hands. The boy next to her reattached them.

"Thanks," she mouthed.

"You're welcome," he mouthed back.

"And now please turn your attention to your valedictorian Casey Mulwray formerly Casey MacDonald," Principal Lassiter stated. Everyone looked at each other in confusion, but clapped heartily anyways. _Mulwray? Why does she want to be called that?_ Derek wondered.

"Thank you, Principal Lassiter," Casey said as she stood in front of the podium. Her brows furrowed when she saw Sam and Ralph by the exit door, but dismissed it. "You know, I had my speech all written out. I was gong to say that this is a time where we need to look forward to what's coming next, but then I realized that I can't say any of that because, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm scared to death of what comes next. For four years we've been at this. We're all different, having different friends and interests, but the one thing that we have in common is that we don't know what the future holds for us. And that's scary as heck," she continued. Derek found himself nodding in agreement. The unknown **was** scary. After all, he practically ruled Sir John Sparrow Thompson High, but when he got to Queens, no one would know him. He'd truly be alone for the first time in his life. "But you know what? I think that if we just take time to admit to ourselves that we're scared, we've taken the first step because then we can use that fear and make it work for us. You know, channeling our fear and then using it to succeed. And with that, I urge us all to gather up our courage and boldly face the unknown," Casey finished and everyone clapped as she went back to her seat. Suddenly, Edwin burst through the curtain wearing a red cape and mask. Casey let out an exclamation of surprise and had to cover her mouth to hide her laughter. _Edwin, what are you wearing?_ she wondered to herself. The younger boy looked kind of ridiculous.

"Who is that masked man?" Principal Lassiter questioned.

"I am Edwin Venturi," Edwin dramatically answered, ripping off his mask.

"There's another one?" Principal Lassiter asked in shock and Casey saw George sink down in his seat. "And I will see you all next September," he told them. "Venturi away!" he said and ran towards the exit with Principal Lassiter at his heels, which Sam and Ralph quickly opened for him. There were a few minutes of silence as the students waited, then the man came back and started calling out the names.

"Kendra Collins," Principal Lassiter finally called. Casey watched as the girl took her diploma. Though not great friends, they got along all right. "Noel Covington," the man continued. Casey smiled as she remembered the play they had done together. _It's too bad I didn't get to know him better_, she thought watching the boy shake hands with the principal. Unfortunately, at the time, she had had a spike in her powers and had distanced herself even further from people as a precaution. "Emily Davis," the man summoned after a while and then continued down the line. As Principal Lassiter continued to call out students' names, Casey allowed herself to get lost in the memories of the last four years. "Casey Mulwray," he finally announced. Casey shook herself from her reverie and walked up. She took her diploma.

"YEAH! YEAH! THAT'S MY GIRL!" she suddenly heard. With a gasp, Casey turned in the direction of the shout. Seeing a man about 6'3 with black hair and hazel eyes wearing a green t-shirt and black jeans standing up, she laughed and headed to her seat. Next to him were five other people—three women and two men-four of them around his age. One of the women was a redhead at 5'10 wearing a red shirt and black slacks. The second woman was a blonde with brown eyes with greenish specs and was 5'6, and was wearing a white t-shirt with blue jeans. The third woman was 5'9, had black hair and was wearing a black tank top and black jeans. Next to them were two men, one older and one younger. The older one was 6'0, had black hair and was wearing a gray shirt with a black jacket and black slacks, while the younger man was 5'11, had chestnut brown hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a brown sweatshirt and blue slacks. Casey grinned. They had made it! They had all made it! Suddenly, her hat fell from her head and she quickly caught it before placing it on her head and reattaching it. Then she took her seat.

"Ralph Papadopolous," Principal Lassiter said. _I can't believe it. Ralph did it_, Casey thought to herself. "Sam Richards," he said. And last but not least-" his voice trailed away as a spotlight filled the stage and Derek was seen standing underneath it.

"Der-ek," Casey said quietly, but with some amusement.

"Derek! Derek! Derek! Derek! Derek! Derek!" Sam and Ralph started to chant. Kendra, Emily, Casey, and Curtis picked up the chant and soon, the whole school was cheering.

"My fellow graduates, we did it," Derek stated. "Let's make some noise!" he encouraged and everyone shouted happily. Balloons started raining down and Sam and Ralph ran up to him.

"I present to you the class of 2009," Principal Lassiter shouted over their cheers. As soon as he said that, Casey broke away from her friends.

"Dad! Dad!" she cried happily. At this Derek turned towards the sound of her voice. _Dennis is here?_ he thought. But why did she sound so happy? She had barely spoken to him the one time he had visited. However, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find the man. Then, his jaw dropped in surprise. Casey was wrapped in the arms of a man he had never seen before.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Emily's tassels coming detached and Casey's cap falling off actually happened to me. I didn't have any pins on my cap, which is why it fell, and I'm not sure what happened with the tassels. One moment I had moved them over, the next they were in my hand.


	2. Reunited

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Aw, that sucks. Well, at least it dragged you in. Thank you. Why don't you read on and find out? Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Fireworks Entertainment, and Tribune. Reference to "One Step Closer" as well as a scene from the ep.

Casey hugged her father tightly, reveling in the warmth of his embrace.

"Congratulations, Case. I'm so proud of you," Brennan Mulwray murmured.

"Thanks, Dad," Casey said.

"Okay, Brennan. Stop hogging her," Shalimar Fox scolded with a laugh. Brennan released his daughter and Casey was immediately enveloped by the feral.

"I missed you girl," the woman told her.

"I missed you too," Casey stated. As she pulled away, she noticed a diamond ring on the older woman's right hand.

"Oh, my gosh! He proposed?" she shrieked.

"Yeah. We were waiting until the three of us were together to tell you," came the response. Casey laughed and hugged Shalimar again.

"I always said you were my mom. This just makes it official. And it's about time, Dad," she said.

"Hey!" Brennan protested good-naturedly. Finally, the two pulled apart and Emma DeLauro hugged her next.

"Your speech was amazing. I couldn't even tell you were nervous," the woman said.

"And that's saying something," the girl joked, earning a laugh from the others and a mock-glare from the redhead.

"Congratulations," Jesse Kilmartin told her, when it was his turn for a hug.

"Thanks, Uncle Jesse," Casey stated.

"Get over here," Lexa Pierce commanded lightly and Casey did as she was told. "You must be thrilled," she continued.

"I am. Believe me, I am," came the response.

"And of course, I'm last," Adam Kane teased.

"Oh, Grandpa," Casey reproached with a laughing sigh as she hugged him tightly.

"Grandpa. We're back to that," Adam stated with a shake of his head.

"You'll never be anything else to me. After all, you've always been like a father to the team," Casey reminded him.

"And that makes you her grandfather," Brennan added.

"Never mind the fact that I'm too young to be a grandfather," Adam mock-grumbled, resulting in laughter from the others.

"Oh! There's someone I want you all to meet!" Casey recalled. "Curtis! Yo, Curtis! Come here!" With an amused shake of his head, Curtis did as he was told, his parents close behind.

"Is that any way to call your boyfriend?" he asked.

"Curtis, Mr. and Mrs. Valentine, I'd like you all to meet my parents, Brennan and Shalimar Mulwray. Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend Curtis Valentine and his parents Kent and Lorraine," Casey introduced them.

"Nice to meet you," Brennan said as he and Shalimar shook hands with the couple.

"Likewise," Kent Valentine stated.

"Oh, so **you're** the boy Casey had me check out," Jesse commented.

"You had me checked out?" Curtis questioned.

"You told me you were a feral right out of the blue. Of course I was gonna have you checked out," Casey reminded.

"Yeah, fair enough," Curtis agreed. Meanwhile, they were unaware that they were being watched by Nora, Lizzie, George, Derek, Edwin, Marti, Sam, Emily, Kendra, and Ralph.

"Who are the people with Casey and Curtis?" Kendra wondered.

"I have no clue," Derek replied.

"They're family friends and I'm going to go say 'Hi'," Nora said. With that, she walked up to them.

"Nora, how lovely to see you again," Adam stated, wrapping the woman into a hug.

"Hello, Adam," Nora said, returning his hug.

"Nora, I'd like to thank you again for taking Casey in. I know it came at a really bad time for you," Brennan stated.

"There was no other choice to be made. Adam's one of my best friends and Casey needed a safe place," Nora responded.

"I just can't believe that Genomex has been rebuilt. I mean, I thought after Eckhart was killed…" Casey's voice trailed off.

"Unfortunately, Genomex is like a cockroach," Jesse grumbled.

"Oh, and before I forget, you're all welcome to come to our graduation dinner in a couple of hours," Nora told them.

"Well, actually some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins are here, and-" Curtis began to say.

"I understand. It's a time for family," Nora said.

"But I **definitely** wanna hit _Delancey's_ tonight," Curtis declared.

"Yeah!" Casey agreed, slapping him five.

"What's _Delancey's_?" Brennan asked.

"It's a gym. The owner's a molecular," Casey replied.

"Oh, that must've come in handy," Emma commented.

"It does," Casey agreed.

"Hey, Casey's just graduated. We should celebrate," Jesse declared.

"He's right. We'll take you anywhere you want," Emma added.

"Well, there's this Observatory, that's kinda like the place Dad and Mom took me and Lauren too. It always stays open late in case students are doing a science project and need ideas," Casey said.

"My girl, the science buff," Brennan chuckled fondly.

"Oh, please. You like those places too," Shalimar reminded.

"Is that what you really want?" Lexa questioned and Casey nodded eagerly.

"All right then. Have a good time and we'll see you at Smelly Nelly's for dinner," Nora said.

"Sounds good," Brennan agreed and the group headed off as Nora rejoined her family.

"Where's Casey going?" George wondered.

"Well, we have a couple of hours before dinner, and Casey wanted to go to the Observatory, so they all went there," Nora replied and George stared at her in shock.

"You let her go off with a bunch of strangers?" he asked in surprise. _I don't believe this. What is she thinking?_ he wondered. Nora was usually much more cautious than this.

"They're not strangers, George. I told you, they're old friends of the family," Nora corrected. "And besides, it's time for me to step back. Casey's going to be leaving soon," she added quietly. George looked at Nora in confusion. Casey was only going to college. It wasn't like she'd be out of her life forever, so why was she acting like this was the last time she was ever going to see her? Meanwhile, after changing into her regular clothes, Casey had joined the others in a van.

"Casey, what are you wearing?" Brennan asked a bit sharply.

"Clothes, Dad," Casey responded as she buckled herself in.

"Don't be smart," Brennan warned.

"Dad, I look fine," Casey insisted.

"Brennan, she really **does** look okay," Shalimar assured. Brennan grumbled but dropped the subject. Following Casey's directions, Brennan, found the Observatory fairly quickly. They walked up to the entrance, paid the fee, and then walked in as Casey ran ahead.

"Hey, Dad! Come look at this!" she shouted and Brennan and the others joined her.

"Hey, that's pretty cool," Brennan commented. Then, they went on, looking at various things. A couple of hours later, at SJSTHS, the graduates had all changed out of their graduation gowns and into more casual clothing and George was still trying to figure out why Nora had just let Casey leave without getting her permission.

"Nora, they may be family friends, but we're her family. Why would you just let her **tell** you that she was going with them? Why didn't you make her ask?" he wondered as Marti fidgeted. _I'm so bored. And I'm hungry_, she thought to herself.

"Because that's no longer my place," she responded with a sad smile. While Casey was living with them, it had been easy for her to pretend that the girl was really her daughter. But now that the team was back, she knew it was time to let her go. George looked at her in confusion. _What does she mean it's no longer her place? She's mother. It'll always be her place_, he thought to himself. He watched as various families began to leave.

"Okay, gang! Time to go!" he shouted. Lizzie and Edwin came immediately, but Derek continued talking with a group of girls. "DER-EK!" he shouted. Derek ended his conversation and rejoined his family.

"Dad, seriously? I was workin' some charm on them," he protested.

"Well, you can practice your charm at Smelly Nelly's," the man told him. With that, he began leading his family towards the exit.

"Where's Casey? Not that I care, but I really don't wanna hear her complaining that we left her here," Derek said.

"She's meeting us there," Nora responded. As they got into the car, Derek frowned. _Meeting us there? Why does she get to meet us there?_ he wondered. It didn't really make sense. Neither did the appearance of the group that she had run up to, and why had she called that one man 'Dad'? He had thought Dennis MacDonald was her dad. _Maybe Dennis had plastic surgery for some reason and he told her about it?_ Derek wondered. Yeah, that was a pretty stupid idea, but it was the only thing that he could come up with that made any sense. Once they were at Smelly Nelly's, they were led to a table by a waiter. Back at the Observatory, Shalimar checked her watched.

"Okay guys, two hours is up," she told them.

"Oh, come on. One more?" Casey begged.

"Yeah!" Brennan added, stamping his foot. "Come on!" Shalimar and the others laughed.

"Not from you," the feral chided. Grumbling good-naturedly, Casey and Brennan did as they were told and got into the car. Once again, Casey gave out directions as Brennan drove down the street. When they finally got there, Brennan continued until he found a parking space and parked the car. Then, they all got out of the car and headed in, where they were lead to the table where the others were waiting.

"Hey guys," Casey greeted.

"Hey," Derek acknowledged, his eyes glued to her outfit. He had been expecting her to change into a dress or something with a skirt. Yet, here she was sporting a green camouflage tank top and gray jeans that looked like they were almost too small to fit around her waist. _What the-how could Nora let her wear something like that?_ he wondered. Through narrowed eyes, he watched as the man held out a chair for the blonde-haired woman and then did the same for Casey as the other two men did the same for the other women.

"George, Derek, Edwin, and Marti, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, Adam Kane and these are his associates-" Nora began and then hesitated. She wasn't sure of their names.

"Emma DeLauro." the redheaded woman supplied.

"Jesse Kilmartin."

"Lexa Pierce."

"Brennan Mulwray."

"Shalimar Fox." Everyone nodded in greeting at the introductions.

"So, how do you all know Nora, Lizzie, and Casey?" Edwin questioned.

"We're old family friends," Adam replied.

"Really?" Derek asked.

"Yep," Casey answered, leaning into Brennan, who wrapped his arms around her and returned the gesture. Derek frowned. _What is she doing? I've never seen her like this_, he thought to himself. Sure she was pretty affectionate with family and friends, but this guy couldn't be that big of a part of her life. He hadn't visited her before now. Marti looked at the group. She wasn't sure who they were, but instinctively knew that they wouldn't hurt Casey. But why did she trust them so much? None of the others had ever met them before, so why was Casey acting like she usually hung around them every day? Just then, the waiter came up and Derek and Casey shared a tense look. Then, Derek gave her a small, reassuring smile that went unnoticed by everyone else.

"What can I get you?" he asked.

"Why don't you go first, Case?" Derek asked.

"Thank you, Derek," Casey said. "Now Andrew, I'll have a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake," she continued.

"I'll have the same plus a slice of strawberry cheesecake and why don't you bring out a slice of chocolate cake for Casey since she was our class' valedictorian," Derek added. Then, with a smirk, "Can you handle it A?" The older boy just ignored him and went to get the rest of the orders. Then, once he had all the orders, he walked away.

"What was that all about?" Jesse wondered.

"Oh, he was a jerk of a boss. We just love messin' with him," Derek answered.

"Oh, yeah," Casey agreed, giving off a smirk that was a lot like Derek's. Brennan just rolled his eyes. Several minutes later, their meals came.

"So, Derek, I noticed that you got a letter from Queens University," George began to say.

"Yeah," Derek confirmed.

"So, what it'd say?" George asked.

"I got in," Derek grinned.

"Hey, that's great," Nora told him and everyone made similar statements.

"What about you, Case? Are you going to Queens too?" Edwin asked.

"No, I'm not going to go to college," Casey answered and everyone stared in surprise.


	3. From Good To Bad

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Good, that's what I was going for. Yep, again, what I was going for. Thank you. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Fireworks Entertainment, and Tribune. I only own the plot.

"That is…not one in Canada and not queens," Casey amended. _Geez. With the way they're staring at me, you'd think I just committed murder_, she thought.

"Hey, if you don't want to go to college, you don't have to," Brennan assured. "After all, I never went," he reminded.

"This is true. And besides, everything that you taught me I could never learn in a school," she added. Jesse shook his head with some amusement. Then, before he or the others could say anything, Andrew came back with their orders and passed the plates out along with their drinks. Then, he went off to another table as everyone dug in.

"Casey, I thought you were all ready to go to Queens, I mean you talked about it with me and Nora," George presently said. "And we all agreed that-" he continued.

"George, don't press it," Nora interrupted. _I only allowed that talk because it would've broken her cover, but I'm not going to act like I have a say in whether or not she goes to college_, she thought to herself.

"But-"

"George, no." Reluctantly, the man dropped the subject. Derek narrowed his eyes. This didn't make sense. Why was Nora acting like this? She should've been tearing into Casey for changing her plans without telling anyone. For that matter, why **would** Casey change her mind without telling anyone? When they were finally done, Brennan, Shalimar, Jesse, Emma, Lexa, and Adam pulled out their wallets and put some money down.

"Oh, you guys don't have to-" Nora started to object.

"Nonsense. Of course we do," Adam interrupted.

"And if you don't mind, I'm paying for Casey," Brennan added.

"Of course not. I wouldn't expect anything less from you," Nora told him.

"Hey, I graduated too, why does she get special treatment?" Derek wondered. _If he's gonna pay for Casey, he should pay for me too! It's only fair!_ he thought.

"Derek, really?" Casey asked. _Is he serious?_ she wondered. Then again, he didn't know that Brennan was her father. After paying, they left the restaurant and went to the parking lot.

"So, where to next, Kiddo?" Brennan asked as they all got into the van.

"_Delancey's_," Casey replied. Brennan started the car and she gave directions.

"If this is a place that's supposed to be a haven for you, I'll go find something else to do," Adam offered.

"No, I know the owner, he's cool. I'll talk to him and explain who you are," Casey stated.

"Okay, if you feel that he can be trusted," Adam agreed.

"He can," Casey assured. Once they were there, Brennan parked the car and Casey went inside.

"Hey, Casey, what can I do for ya?" Victor Delancey asked.

"I need to talk to everybody who's in here," Casey answered, raising her voice so that the other mutants could hear. Curious, they all stopped what they were doing and walked up to them.

"What's going on, Casey?" a guy asked.

"Are you okay?" a girl added.

"I'm fine," Casey assured. "It's just that…I'm bringing some old friends by and…one's not a mutant," Casey answered.

"Casey, are you sure that's a good idea?" Vic asked in concern.

"I trust him with my life, Vic," Casey told him.

"It's all right by me, but I can't speak for anyone else," the man stated.

"Hey, if Case says the guy's cool, that's good enough for me," another male mutant stated and the other patrons of the gym made similar statements. Casey waved the others in and Jesse walked up, phased out, ushered the others in, and then walked in behind them.

"I call the bars!" Shalimar exclaimed and raced towards them as Brennan laughed and followed her as Lexa, Jesse, and Emma each went to a weight machine and Adam went to sit on a stool. Casey, meanwhile, had started stretching. A few minutes later, the door opened once more and Curtis walked in.

"Curtis, hey!" Casey squealed in excitement and ran to him.

"Saw you stretching. Getting ready for a sparring match?" Curtis asked.

"Yep."

"Let me warm up first." As Curtis started a warm up routine, Casey resumed hers. Once they were properly warmed up, they began circling each other. Then, Curtis lunged at Casey, who quickly grabbed him and flipped him over her shoulders. As he landed on his feet, he twisted around and grabbed her. She then, emitted a small electric shock, causing him to release her. Adam shook his head in amusement when he realized what had happened. Presently, Victor walked up to him.

"I'm Victor Delancey," he introduced himself.

"Adam Kane," Adam said. "So, how did Casey find this place?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure myself. She just came in one day and started working out. We started talking and she said she had moved here with family friends and needed a place to blow off steam," Victor replied. "She's been a regular ever since," he finished. Then, "How do you know her?"

"I'm a friend of her father's," Adam replied. He turned his attention back to the girl who was still sparring with her boyfriend. _Wow. She sure has grown_, he thought to himself. Sure it had only been four years, but it felt like forever. Then, he winced as the boy was flipped over her shoulders and then pinned.

"Game over. You lose," she said. Then, she stood up.

"Win some, lose some," he said, also standing up.

"Whatta ya say, Bren? You wanna go at it?" Shalimar asked.

"Oh, no. I already learned that lesson," Brennan responded with a shake of his head and the others snickered.

"Come on. What's the matter? Chicken?" Shalimar teased.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Brennan answered.

"At least you're honest, Dad," Casey chuckled.

"Well, I can't really same that I blame him. After all, when Shal kicks your butt, she **really** kicks your butt," Jesse stated and Shalimar flashed him a knowing grin.

"Come on, Shal. I'll spar with you," Lexa declared and the two girls went to the mats, where they quickly warmed up and then Shalimar lunged towards Lexa, who quickly somersaulted away and then lashed out with a leg sweep. Soon, the two were locked in an intense combat. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to watch them.

"Whoa! They're really good!" a man said appreciatively.

"Who do you think will win?" another man asked.

"My money's on the blonde," a woman stated.

"No way, the brunette," another woman disagreed. Meanwhile, the MacDonald/Venturi family had finally gone home, and once there, Edwin pulled Lizzie into the games closet.

"What do you want?" Lizzie wondered.

"Okay, I know something's going on. I mean, for one thing, Casey has always acted like she hated her father, and yet, she sounded extremely happy when she saw him which brings me to point number two in that the man she hugged so excitedly wasn't Dennis and of course there's the "family friends". Third, Nora doesn't rip Casey a new one when she says she's not going to college, which is **extremely** weird, especially for Casey, and-"

"Get to the point, Edwin," Lizzie interrupted.

"The point is that ever since Nora's "family friends" arrived, she's been acting like she has no say in what Casey does, when as her mother, she has every right," Edwin reminded. _I mean, geez! Really? What's wrong with her?_ he wondered.

"Whatever you're planning or thinking about planning, don't," his stepsister advised.

"Look, Casey isn't acting like herself and she hasn't acted like herself ever since she started dating that Curtis guy. And as her brother-" his voice died as she pinned him against the closet.

"Edwin, back off," she warned. _I love Edwin like a brother, but if he snoops into Casey's life, I will hurt him_, she thought to herself. Seeing that she had made herself clear, Lizzie released Edwin, and then walked out of the games closet. What no one knew was that a black SUV was driving towards Ontario. A phone rang and the driver picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked. He listened for a minute. "Yes, I remember the orders." Again, he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. "Don't worry. I'll make sure it's taken care of." With that, he hung up and then sped up. He had a job to do and he wasn't going to fail. His eyes narrowed as he continued down the street. Seeing the exit for Ontario, he turned and took it. He smiled. He was so glad that Genomex had been rebuilt. He had been afraid that it had been disbanded permanently after Mr. Eckhart's death, but thankfully, he had been wrong.

"So, what's our target?" a man in the backseat asked.

"A gym that caters to problem mutants. We're to make sure it's completely taken care of," the driver responded.

"Bout time we got some action," the second passenger muttered and the driver nodded in agreement. Now that Genomex was back, they could continue their weeding out of the problem mutants who didn't contribute anything to society. After all, how could they be productive if they weren't employed by Genomex? But then again, most mutants were happy to do as Genomex said. It was only Mutant X and those who came in contact with them that were problems. The man frowned. Mutant X. The constant thorn in Genomex's side. They had to be destroyed if it was the last thing that he or anyone in Genomex ever did. When he pulled into the Ontario, the man checked his GPS and finding a hotel, he walked up to the front desk, followed by the other two men.

"Hello. I'm Darrin Macon. I'd like a room for three please," he requested. The desk clerk checked and finding a vacant room, checked him in. Once he was settled, he pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. He waited a few minutes until someone picked up. "I'm in Ontario. Do you want me to go to the target now or wait?" he asked. He listened intently. "Tonight? Of course. I just wanted to clarify our orders." He then hung up and then turned to his associates.

"Let's go," he said. With that, they each grabbed a gun and some other accessories. Then, they got in the SUV and headed for the address. It didn't take them long to find the place.

"Remember-don't let them fool you. They're abominations," the first man warned and the other two nodded. "Let's go." Then, he shot the lock and then kicked open the door. Everyone turned around and-bullets flew everywhere.

"TAKE COVER!" At Brennan's shout, everyone dove for a corner or under a table.

"What's going on?" someone asked fearfully.

"I don't know," another patron asked in the same voice. Brennan looked over at the where the gunmen were.

"Can you get off a shot?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Brennan answered. "Did you see where Casey ended up?" he questioned anxiously.

"I saw Curtis grab her and force her down, but where they're hiding I'm not sure," Jesse answered. Brennan's eyes clouded worriedly. "Hey, I'm sure she's okay, man. She's tough…like you," he assured.

"Man, this is exactly why I agreed to let her stay with Adam's friend," Brennan sighed in frustration. Jesse reached over and squeezed his friend's shoulder sympathetically. Then, Brennan summoned a charge of electricity, and then quickly thrust it at the men who were shooting. The lead gunman cried out in surprise as he was knocked back. The second gunman pointed his gun and fired. Brennan let out a grunt of pain as the bullet entered his shoulder.

"Brennan!" Jesse shouted.

"I'm okay," Brennan insisted. There was more shooting and Lexa let loose with her own bolt of light as other mutants joined in the defense. Suddenly, a familiar cry of pain reached Brennan's ears.

"Casey!" he shouted, rising to his feet. Before anyone knew what was happening, he was throwing a vast amount of charges at the gunmen.

"Retreat!" the leader shouted and the trio ran out. Vic went to the phone and dialed the police as Brennan and Jesse made their way to where they had heard Casey.

"Daddy?" Casey asked, starting to walk towards the man. Her face contorted in pain and she started to stumble.

"CASEY!" As Brennan caught her, he was aware of a stickiness covering his body. His gaze drifted downward and he saw blood dripping down Casey's hip.


	4. Truth Revealed

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yep. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMERS

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Tribune, and Fireworks Entertainment. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize.

"Brennan, that bullet's in pretty deep. We gotta get her to a hospital," Jesse noted.

"No, no, no, no, no! Too many questions!" Casey exclaimed.

"We're gonna have to chance it, Kiddo," Brennan said calmly. However, inside, he was having a full-blown panic attack. She had been shot. His little girl had been shot. _ I don't believe this. What do I do? I can't-she got shot! Someone shot her!_ his mind screamed.

"Casey, honey, they're right. You need a hospital," Curtis agreed.

"No. We can't," Casey said and then winced in pain.

"That's it. The hell with questions. I'm getting you fixed up," Brennan determined. "Unless there's someone here that's a healer," he continued and his daughter shook her head. She hadn't met anyone with that kind of power at Delancey's. After all, amongst themselves, mutants were pretty forthcoming about their powers.

"Lexa and I will get the car," Jesse said.

"Hang in there, Case. We're gonna get you some help," Lexa added and then followed Jesse out of the building.

"Anyone else need to be looked at?" Adam asked. There were mostly negative answers, though a few people answered to the affirmative. "Okay, those of you who need a ride, come with us," he continued.

"I can drive a few people," Victor quickly offered. Once rides were procured for everyone who needed them, they all headed out and several minutes later, they were at the hospital.

"Should someone call Nora? I mean, for all intents and purpose, she **is** the legal guardian here," Lexa pointed out as Casey was wheeled away.

"I'll call," Adam said. He then walked out of the building, took out a cell phone, and dialed a number. Finally, he got through.

"Hello?" he heard Nora ask.

"Nora, it's Adam Kane. You need to get to Ontario County Hospital. Casey's been hurt and as far as they know, you're her guardian," he told her.

"I'll be right there," Nora promised. _That's gotta be hard for Brennan, not being able to give consent for his own daughter_, she thought.

"Nora, what is it?" George asked as Nora grabbed her keys.

"Casey's at Ontario County Hospital and she needs me," Nora replied.

"The hospital? What happened? Do you want me to come with?" George questioned.

"You're sweet, but no. I'll let you know what's going on," Nora answered, giving him a quick kiss before heading out. Several minutes later, she reached the hospital, and ran up to the desk.

"My daughter-Casey MacDonald, where is she?" she asked breathlessly, only half-acting.

"Dr. Carter just took her into surgery, but we **do** need you to sign the consent forms," the desk nurse said, handing the woman the papers. Nora sat down next to Brennan with the forms. _Good. Dr. Carter will take care of her_, she thought to herself, thinking of the man who knew Casey's secret.

"What happened, Brennan?" she asked quietly as she began filling out the necessary forms.

"_Delancey's Gym_ got shot up," Brennan answered.

"What?" Nora gasped. _Who would shoot up a gym?_ she wondered.

"It was some new GSA agents," Brennan answered as if he had read her mind. "They shot her, Nora. They shot my little girl," he hissed as the rest of the Mutant X team walked up to them.

"Don't worry, Brennan. We'll make them pay," Shalimar promised, placing a hand on her fiancée's shoulder. Nora watched as the woman's eyes momentarily flashed gold. When the forms were finally done, Nora walked back up to the desk and handed them to the desk nurse. Meanwhile, George had gathered up the rest of the kids and had ushered them out to the Prince.

"Dad, what's going on?" Derek wondered.

"Casey's in the hospital," George answered.

"What!"

"What happened!"

"What's wrong with her?"

"Is she okay?" The questions all came at once.

"I don't know. Nora didn't tell me anything. Just that Casey was in the hospital and needed her. And for some reason, she said that I didn't need to go with her," George replied.

"So, it's probably no big deal right?" Edwin surmised.

"I don't know, Ed. I just don't know," George answered truthfully. Minutes later, they arrived at the hospital.

"Nora!" George called.

"George, I-I told you-" Nora started to say as she stood up.

"She's my daughter too. Of course I'm going to be here," George interrupted.

"Oh, George," Nora whispered. _How do I tell him that she's not his daughter anymore than she's mine?_ she wondered. Brennan watched the exchange, silently. _Please…please let her be okay. I can't lose her_, he thought. Sensing his emotions, Emma walked up behind him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"She'll be okay, Bren. She's strong like you," she whispered.

"Thanks, Em," he said, reaching up to place his hand on hers. George looked at Brennan, who kept glancing in the direction of the surgery room. _I don't blame him for being worried, but why does he look like his own kid is in there?_ he wondered.

"Mrs. Venturi, can I get you anything?" Curtis asked.

"Thank you, Curtis. Some water would be nice," Nora answered.

"Of course. Anybody else?" he asked and everyone else shook their heads.

"Think you could get a beer?" Brennan questioned.

"Yeah, not in here, sorry," Curtis replied.

"Do you want me to-" Emma started to ask.

"Just for a little bit…if you don't mind," Brennan responded.

"Of course not," Emma told him and then concentrated on the man, who took a deep breath as he felt waves of calm envelop him and Curtis walked out to the hallway where there was a vending machine. He put some money in the machine, and got a water bottle and then brought the bottle to Nora.

"Here," he said, handing it to her.

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

"No problem," he told her. Several hours later, Dr. Carter finally came out.

"Doctor, how is she?" Nora questioned as she and Brennan stood up.

"Well, we were able to get the bullet out, but she's lost a lot of blood," Dr. Carter began.

"Doc…you're not saying…?" Brennan started to choke out. _I lost her? I lost my little girl?_ he wondered. His legs began to buckle, but Jesse and Lexa quickly caught him.

"Oh, no! No! So sorry. I didn't mean to alarm you; I just meant that we had to go slower than normal because of the loss of blood. She's now resting comfortably in ICU," the man told them.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. You said she got shot? She was at a gym!" George exclaimed. _Who would shoot up a gym? Was it in an unsafe neighborhood?_ he wondered.

"I know. We've had some other people come in from the same place," the doctor responded.

"Where exactly is this place located and if it's so dangerous, why was she there alone?" George wondered, turning to Nora.

"It's _Delancey's Gym_ and it's in a perfectly safe neighborhood. They just happened to have a shooting there tonight," Nora replied.

"How can you be so calm? You let our daughter go off with strangers who then got her shot!" George shouted.

"Hey, don't yell at her!" Brennan exclaimed, stepping forward so that he was standing in front of Nora.

"You stay out of this. This doesn't concern you," George snapped, turning to Brennan.

"Every one, just calm down," Adam stated. "Remember, we're all here for Casey," he continued. George and Brennan each inhaled and exhaled deeply. He was right. They couldn't afford to fight amongst themselves. Casey needed them.

"Anyways, if you're done, you can visit her-one at a time," Dr. Carter stated.

"Thank you, Doctor," Shalimar said.

"Brennan, why don't you go first?" Nora encouraged and George looked at her in surprise. Casey was her daughter. Why didn't she want to go before anyone else?

"Thank you," Brennan said and headed for the room. He opened the door. "How you doin', Kiddo?" he asked as the girl sat up.

"A little sore. Daddy, why did they come back?" she asked as he sat beside her.

"I don't know, Kiddo," he answered, smoothing back her hair. "Oh, you had me so scared. I thought I was going to lose you," he continued, placing a kiss on the top of her forehead.

"We have to leave sooner than we planned, don't we?"

"Yeah, I think that'd be for the best." Out in the waiting room, George checked his watch once more.

"Okay, he's been in there long enough," he declared.

"George, don't bother them," his wife warned.

"Okay, how come ever since these "family friends" showed up, you've just been letting them walk all over you? I mean, come on, Nora! You're Casey's mother!"

"That's just it, George! I'm **not** her mother!" The Venturi family froze and stared at Nora.


	5. More Revelations

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: If you think that cliffie was bad, I think you're gonna hate me even more for how I end **this** chap. Yeah, but it was necessary.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Here's more. Sorry it's not soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Mutant X belongs to Tribune, Marvel Studios, and Fireworks Entertainment. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize.

"What do you mean you're not her mother?" George asked.

"Just what I said, George. Casey's not my daughter," Nora replied. "And I could pretend the four years that I was taking care of her that she was, but she's not. And I'm not going to pretend anymore," she continued.

"I think we better leave them alone," Emma murmured.

"Yeah, good idea," Adam, Jesse, Lexa, and Shalimar agreed.

"Now would probably be a good time to make sure Brennan actually got that shoulder taken care of," Shalimar added and they headed for ICU, where Casey was talking to Brennan. The girl frowned when she saw her father wince and grab his right shoulder.

"Did you even get your shoulder taken care of?" she asked.

"My guess is 'No'," a voice deadpanned.

"Dad, that could get infected," Casey reminded.

"She's right, Brennan," Adam agreed.

"I had to make sure you were okay first," Brennan stated.

"I'm going to be fine. Please get that looked at," Casey persisted.

"All right, all right. I'll go get a doctor," Brennan agreed.

"Thank you," Casey said as the man allowed Adam to lead him away. Then, "So I guess the cat's out of the bag."

"Yep," Jesse agreed.

"Well, as soon as I'm out of here, I'm hunting these guys down," Casey declared.

"Casey, I don't know if-" Emma began to say.

"They shot me, Aunt Emma!" Casey interrupted.

"Yeah, I can't really argue with that," Emma stated. If she were in the girl's position, she'd be acting the exact same way. Meanwhile, George was still trying to make sense of what Nora had just told him.

"I don't understand this. You told me you had two daughters and she even looks like you," he commented.

"Well, that certainly helped," Nora chuckled. "But her real name is Mulwray, which is why she had them switch it for graduation. She wanted to graduate under her real name," she continued. Before she could say more, a nurse came out and walked up to them.

"How is she?" Nora wondered.

"She's fine, but one of the men with her was also injured and had to be looked at," the nurse replied.

"What?" Nora gasped. _Who else was hurt in the attack and why did they wait so long to get checked out?_ she wondered. Presently, Casey and the others came out along with Dr. Carter.

"Hey, how you doing?" George asked, putting a concerned arm around her shoulders.

"I'm fine, George. Honest," Casey assured.

"You're free to go," Dr. Carter told them.

"Great. Finally," Casey sighed in relief.

"I know how you feel, Kiddo," Brennan chuckled. Then hey headed for the parking lot, got into their cars, and Shalimar, Brennan, Lexa, Adam, Emma, Jesse, and Casey went to the MacDonald/Venturi residence. Once there, Casey went to her room and started packing. Presently, Lizzie came in.

"You're going to leave pretty soon, aren't you?" she asked.

"As soon as we take care of those new Genomex freaks, yeah," came the response.

"I wish you could stay," the younger girl admitted. _I really felt like we were sisters_, she thought to herself.

"Thanks Liz. I appreciate that. I really do," the older girl told her. _I'm glad that she didn't resent me for basically uprooting her life_, she thought.

"Can I help?"

"Sure." Lizzie then gathered up some of Casey's belongings and put them in boxes. In the living room, the Venturis faced Nora and the Mutant X team.

"Does someone want to explain to me how my daughter gets shot while she's at a gym?" George asked.

"'Your daughter'?" Brennan repeated, stepping closer to the man. _Who does this guy think he is?_ he thought angrily. "Let me tell you-"

"Brennan, calm down," Adam interrupted.

"He's not her father. **I** am," Brennan snapped.

"We know, man. We know," Jesse said soothingly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. _Man, I haven't seen him this freaked for a long time. Not that I can blame him. I mean, it's his daughter_, he thought.

"That still doesn't answer my question," George reminded them. _I don't believe this. How can Nora be so calm and what does this guy mean that he's Casey's father?_ he wondered. Brennan fell silent and his eyes clouded.

"That's because it's none of your business. We'll find these guys and take care of it," Brennan told him hotly.

"None of our business?" Derek asked. _I don't care who this guy is. He's not talking to my dad like that!_ he thought angrily. "None of this would've happened if you hadn't shown up! If Casey had been with us-her family-she never would've been hurt!" he burst out. Brennan's eyes flashed again he started for Derek.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Brennan! He's just a kid! Don't kill him!" Lexa exclaimed, getting in front of her friend.

"I'm getting sick of people insinuating that I can't take care of my own daughter!" Brennan shouted. Upstairs, Casey and Lizzie looked at each other when they heard the shouting.

"What's that all about?" Lizzie wondered.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out," Casey responded and then headed downstairs.

"Casey, I thought you were packing," Nora said in surprise.

"Please. Who can pack with you guys shouting at each other?" Casey asked with a roll of her eyes.

"We're not shouting. We're discussing," Brennan defended.

"Dad, that didn't work when I was seven and it doesn't work now," Casey told him. "Now what's going on?"

"Don't worry about it, Case. We're just getting rid of the guys who got you hurt," Derek said.

"Okay, first of all, since when do you care, and two, if you think I'm going to let you throw my father and the rest of my family out, you're sadly mistaken," Casey stated.

"'Your father'?" Derek echoed. "Casey, this isn't Dennis," he reminded her.

"Oh, please. You think that loser is actually my dad?" she scoffed. Then, looking at Nora and Lizzie, "No offense."

"None taken."

"Casey-" Derek began to say.

"Look, I've been taking care of myself for years and I **don**'**t** need some dumb human boy fighting my battles for me," Casey interrupted, her eyes flashing gold.

"Whoa! What's wrong with your eyes?" Edwin gasped as Marti quickly latched onto George.

"Casey, calm down," Adam cautioned.

"How are you doing that?" Derek questioned.

"You had to get her upset, didn't you?" Lizzie asked, smacking him.

"Nora, what's going on?" George asked, nervousness creeping into his voice. Nora looked to Brennan and the others who nodded their consent.

"This is going to be a lot to take in, but it's the truth," she told him.

"What is?" he asked.

"George," she said. Then, she hesitated. What if he and his family didn't react well?

"Nora, what is it?" he asked.

"Casey's a mutant," she replied.


	6. Blitz Attack

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yep. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Tribune, and Fireworks Entertainment. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize. And I know this chapter is really short, but it's just the way it worked out.

"She's a what?" George asked. _What's a mutant and why would Nora call Casey one?_ he wondered.

"A mutant-a human who has extra abilities thanks to a DNA experiment gone awry," Jesse answered.

"Though we don't usually refer ourselves as not being human," Casey added and Nora gave her an apologetic look, which she dismissed with a wave.

"That still doesn't explain why the gym got shot up," George persisted.

"There are some people who see us as inferior and needing to be eliminated," Casey answered. The Venturis stared at her and the others in surprise.

"'Eliminated'? Like in-" Derek's voice trailed off. Casey nodded.

"That's exactly what I mean," she confirmed.

"But that's stupid!" he protested. _Not to mention crazy! I mean, I know her eyes suddenly changed color, but that's gotta be a trick of the light_, he thought to himself.

"Can't disagree," Jesse murmured.

"Wait a minute. None of this makes sense. You're saying someone experimented on Casey?" George queried. _Who would do that to her? She's just a kid!_ his mind screamed.

"Actually, no," Brennan replied. "She's the only one that we know of with inherited abilities," he said.

"I got it from my parents," Casey added.

"The rest of us got our powers because of embryo research that was done," Emma stated.

"What?" Edwin asked in confusion.

"It was in the early eighties. It seemed like a great discovery. Little did I know," Adam said with a small, sad smile.

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know things would go haywire," Jesse reminded him, earning him a grateful smile from the older man

"So, how do we take care of these guys?" Edwin wondered.

"**You** don't," Casey responded. Lizzie and Edwin both began to protest. "I'm not going to risk any of you getting caught in the crossfire," she continued, raising her voice so that they'd hear her over her objections. Lizzie nodded in reluctance. "But I **do** appreciate the willingness," the older girl assured them.

"Nora, can I talk to you in the kitchen?" George requested.

"Sure," Nora agreed and she followed her husband into the room.

"Nora, we have to make these people leave," George stated.

"George!" Nora gasped.

"Nora, they're dangerous. Look what happened to Casey. Now she may not biologically be ours, but we still have to take in account that her so-called father is completely unfit," George stated.

"How can you say that?" Nora asked.

"He let her go to a place where she got shot," George reminded her.

"That was explained," Nora shot back.

"Nora, do you realize how crazy that sounds? There's no way genes can be manipulated in such a way. For Casey's own well-being, we **have** to get her away from those people…including Curtis," George insisted. In the living room, Casey and Shalimar looked at each other. Though George had asked to speak to Nora privately, he hadn't kept his voice down and they had all heard every word.

"I don't believe this. Who does this guy think he is?" Brennan asked harshly.

"Calm down, Brennan," Jesse murmured.

"Why should he? George isn't even my father and he's acting like he knows better than me," Casey pointed out.

"He's just worried about you," Adam stated.

"I don't care! I don't need some human acting like he knows what's best for me when he doesn't even have a clue!" Casey snapped, her eyes once more flashing gold. "I say we leave," she declared.

"Casey's right. It's time we go," Brennan agreed. "Nora, thank you for everything you've done to take care of my little girl," he said, offering the woman his hand.

"Any time, Brennan," Nora responded, taking his hand and shaking it. Then, they all walked out of the building and got into the van. Then, Brennan drove back to their hotel. Meanwhile, what no one knew, was that the GSA agents had decided to follow Curtis' family.

"Fowler, Norris, know what to do?" Darrin questioned and the two nodded.

"What about the boy's parents?" Fowler asked.

"They are not the primary target and are of no concern," Darrin replied. "However, if they happen to get in the way…" Fowler and Norris nodded in understanding. They waited until the car pulled into a driveway and stopped. Then, they surrounded the car. Curtis let out a yell of surprise as the back window was broken, the door quickly unlocked and he was dragged out of the car.

"Don't you touch my son!" Kent shouted, punching Darrin and heading towards the back of the car. However, Darrin pulled out a gun and shot the man in the back of the head. Lorraine let out a scream, which was cut off when Norris grabbed her by the throat.

"Sssssh, ssssshhh, sssssshhhh. Don't worry little lady. Everything's going to be all right," Norris whispered soothingly. The woman whimpered as she stared at her husband's lifeless body. Curtis' eyes turned a dark gold and he got into a stance of defense. Fowler charged at the boy, knocking him to the ground and then pulled a gun. Curtis froze.

"Do what we say or Mommy dies too," he warned.

"Okay. Okay. Just don't hurt her…please," the boy begged.

"Get up." Curtis did as he was told. "In the car." Reluctantly, Curtis did so, Fowler close behind. Once the boy was in the car, Fowler closed the door and Darrin got into the driver's seat.

"Boss, what do you want me to do with her?" Norris asked.

"Leave her be. We have what we need," Darrin responded. Norris let Lorraine go and then got in the car. Darrin sped away. Back in the van, Emma gasped.

"Emma, what is it?" Jesse asked in concern. Emma didn't answer. All she could see was Curtis trembling as blood rained all around him.

"Emma?" Brennan asked. She gasped.

"What'd you see?" Lexa questioned.

"Something's happened to Curtis," Emma responded.

"What do you mean?" Casey questioned. _What happened to Curtis?_ she wondered.

"He's scared. There's-blood-all around him. So much blood," Emma answered.

"Daddy?" Casey asked in fright.

"Where does he live?" Shalimar asked. Casey gave the address and Adam punched it into the navigation system. Casey bit her lip.

"Don't worry, Casey. We'll make sure he's okay," Brennan assured. The girl just looked at her father, her eyes shinning a brilliant gold that was brimmed with fright.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Gotta admit, **I** didn't even see this comin'! And as for Emma's vision, all we know of her growth spurt power-wise was that she was able to manifest a ball of light that acted as a bazooka, so I decided to play around with her ability to see what people were feeling.


	7. The Search Is On

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural: Yeah. Awww…cut him some slack. He's just trying to do the right thing. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Mutant X belongs to Tribune, Fireworks Entertainment, and Marvel Studios. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize. They only hinted at the full extent of Emma's powers, so I'm taking some liberties. Reference to "Conspiracy Theory" (at least I think that was the episode where Emma opened herself up fully power-wise). Vision is in italics.

Several minutes later, the Mutant X team arrived at Curtis' house. Adam's brows furrowed in concern when he saw the police cars and officers talking to Mrs. Valentine. _What happened here?_ he wondered. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Hearing the other car drive up, the officers turned around as the Mutant X team got out of the car and began approaching.

"Excuse me, Sir. I'm sorry. You can't be here," one said, coming up to them.

"Please…that's my boyfriend's mother. What's going on?" Casey asked, fright in her voice.

"I'm sorry, but we can't discuss that with you," the officer answered. _I don't know if Mrs. Valentine wants me to tell her, and besides, she's just a kid_, he thought to himself. Lorraine came running up to them.

"Casey," she said, wrapping the girl in a hug.

"Mrs. Valentine, what happened?" the girl asked.

"They came out of nowhere! Kent tried to protect us! They shot him!" the woman said.

"Curtis?" Casey queried.

"They took him," she said. "They took my baby!" Casey anxiously looked at Brennan, who took her hand and pulled her into a hug. _Don't worry, Kiddo. We'll find him and bring him back_, he thought to himself.

"Which way did they go?" an officer questioned. Lorraine let out a stammered response, which the officers took down, and then drove off.

"Mrs. Valentine, besides getting Curtis back, is there anything I can do?" Casey asked. The woman smiled at her and then drew her into a hug. _Such a sweet girl_, she thought.

"You're a good girl, Casey," she told her. "And you shouldn't be getting mixed up in something so dangerous. They could hurt you too," she continued.

"I don't care about that. I'm getting my boyfriend back," came the response.

"Come on. We'll catch them, even with their head start," Brennan declared. Lorraine allowed herself to be led to the van. Adam started the engine and then drove off. As they continued down the street, Adam kept a worried but subtle eye on Casey. He knew how volatile the girl could be when she was upset. Not that he could blame her for being upset in this instance. If he was her, he'd be reacting the same way. Emma bit her lip. Even though she couldn't exactly **see** Curtis, she could feel his emotions. And he was scared as heck…not that she blamed him. After all, he had just seen one of his parents murdered right in front of him. _I hope we can find him. I'm only getting abstracts_, she thought to herself.

"I wish we had the helix," Casey murmured. Hearing this Brennan, turned to look at his daughter.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Kiddo. It is faster and has a lot more resources," he agreed. Resources that could all use right about now. Lorraine glanced at the others in the van. _I can't believe that they're all willing to do this for me. I mean, Curtis and I are total strangers_, she thought.

"Thank you…for doing this for me…I mean, I know I'm a total stranger and-"

"Don't even worry about it. It's people like the ones who took your son that need to be stopped," Brennan interrupted. And he'd do all that he could to make sure that happened. He shared a worried look with the other members of the team. Now if they could just get to the boy in time. Meanwhile, the Genomex agents had reached a warehouse and had dragged Curtis through the building until they had reached a small room. Then, they threw Curtis into the room.

"Why'd you bring me here? What's going on?" he demanded.

"Shut up, freak. You'll find out soon enough," Darrin snapped. _They kill my father and kidnap me, and __**I'm**__ the freak?_ Curtis asked himself. However, he wisely kept his mouth shut. Then, he sighed. What did they want with him? For whatever reason, they seemed to hate him because of what he was. But why? He had never intentionally hurt anybody…not that they seemed to care. He looked around the room. Maybe there was something he could use to escape or figure out where he was. However, the room was bare except for something etched on the walls. Curtis frowned thoughtfully. _Okay, think, man. You're down, but not out. There's gotta be some way you can beat these guys_, he coached himself. Besides, his mom was most likely trying to find him. He blew out a breath. _I don't want her getting hurt and she probably won't find this place for a while. I need to figure out a way to get out of here_, he thought to himself. But how? There were no windows, no posters…nothing. He closed his eyes and slumped against the wall. _Casey…please find me_, he thought to himself. While this was going on, in the van, Emma had closed her eyes and gotten a determined look on her face.

"Emma, what are you doing?" Lexa wondered.

"I'm opening myself up completely. That way, I can find any emotion Curtis may have," Emma replied.

"Emma, I want you to be careful. You know very well just how dangerous for you that is," Adam cautioned. _I know she's powerful, but an intense wave of emotion could crush her mentally as well as physically_, he worried.

"I know, Adam. But he's just a kid and we're the only ones looking for him. I need to do this," Emma responded. Adam nodded. She had a good point. That didn't mean that he still didn't worry. "I can feel the concern. Thank you, Adam." Adam let out a small laugh and shook his head. That girl would be the death of him some day. Emma once more concentrated on reaching out to Curtis. _Come on, Curtis. Casey's worried about you_, she thought. And so was she. He had never experienced anything like this before. _Come on, Curtis. Give me something_, she thought again. He had to be **some**where. The woman continued to shift through the emotions, trying to latch on to Curtis. She bit her lip nervously. She had never used her ability this far. Sure there was the time she and Jesse had been in danger and she had used her illusionary ability to her fullest extent, but she had never done anything like this before. She was about to pull out when-an image of Curtis in a locked room came rushing into her head. _The boy looked around, trying to find some method of_ _escaping, to no avail_._ He glanced over some writing._ Emma frowned. What was that? It was obviously some sort of writing. Maybe she could zero in on it and get some sort of clue. She re-shifted her focus and concentrated on the writing she had seen. _Come on, come on_, she encouraged as she tried to get a bead on the words.

"Emma?" Brennan asked uncertainly. He had never seen her like this-so focused. He wasn't sure if this was good for her.

"Don't make her break her concentration," Adam cautioned. But he had to admit, he was concerned too. As he drove around, he kept a subtle eye on the woman. Emma let out a frustrated growl. She had almost had something: she was certain of it! _Come on, concentrate. You almost had it!_ Emma encouraged herself. She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. There **had** to be a way to get a lock on Curtis. _Curtis, where are you?_ she wondered. _Curtis looked around his prison, trying to find a way out. The scene shifted to outside the hotel, where a large, wooden sign hung, along with an address. Then, the scene turned to red. _Emma gasped and her eyes widened.

"Aunt Emma? What'd you see?" Casey wondered and Emma told them. Adam headed in the new direction and Shalimar reached out to put a comforting hand on the girl's wrist.


	8. Rescue

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yeah, those are pretty cool powers. Read on and see. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Fireworks Entertainment, and Tribune. I only own the plot.

In his prison room, Curtis continued to look around. He had to figure out where he was. But how? Nothing looked familiar. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. There had to be a way out. Suddenly, he picked up coming footsteps and his eyes flashed golden. _I need to figure out what they plan to do with me_, he realized. The door opened to reveal the men who had taken him from his home. Curtis dropped into a defensive stance and the men chuckled sinisterly.

"Do you really think you can defeat us, boy?" one of the men asked condescendingly. The two came at him and faster than they had anticipated, the boy flipped backwards and then snaked out a leg out, knocking them off of their feet. However, the men quickly jumped to their feet and pounced on Curtis. The boy began to fight, but they tightened their grip and forced him closer to the ground. They struggled with him and one of them men reached behind him and all of a sudden, he felt something in the back of his neck. He cried out in pain and the men released him, watching him writhe on the floor.

"What did you just do?" Curtis groaned as his fingers reached up to his neck to feel a sort of metal sticking out of his neck.

"Subdermal governor. You can't use your powers unless we allow you to," one of the men replied. Curtis stood up shakily. He started for them, but a click from the governor made him cry out in pain as he fell to his knees. "Like I said, **boy**, you can always use your powers when **we** let you." He groaned again and the men laughed. This was a good start. Now if they could just take care of the other problem mutants, everything would be great. In the van, Emma gasped as another image hit her. _Curtis struggled, trying to break his chains as electricity crackled all around him._

"Guys! We have to hurry!" she shouted.

"Emma, what is it? What's wrong?" Adam asked in concern.

"I just got an image of Curtis wrapped in chains. The last time I got an image like that, Brennan had just been slapped with a subdermal governor," Emma explained. Adam subtly revved his engine and the Mutant X team shared an anxious look. That wasn't good.

"Daddy?" Casey asked softly.

"Don't worry, Casey. We'll save him. I won't let Genomex use him," Brennan assured, placing a comforting hand on her wrist. Casey gave her father a relieved grin. He'd save Curtis. He'd make everything okay again. She inhaled and exhaled sharply. She just had to keep calm. She wouldn't do Curtis any good if she freaked out. _Oh, just hang on, baby. We're coming_, she thought to herself. After what seemed to be several hours, they finally reached the address that Emma had seen. As one, they all got out of the car and silently sneaked towards the entrance. Adam used silent hand signals to instruct the team to surround the building. They did so and entered through various doors. Inside, the men heard a blaring siren.

"Someone's broken in!" Fowler shouted. "Norris, you're staying with the freak," he snapped. Then, he and Darren left the room as Fowler conveyed what was going on through an earpiece. Curtis reached towards the metal sticking in his neck and tried to pull it out to no avail. _Man! I want this thing out!_ he thought to himself. He also wanted to find out what had happened to his mother and then go home. Mainly though, he just wanted to go home. He didn't want to be treated like a freak anymore. After all, he wasn't a freak. He was just different. Something these idiots apparently didn't understand. Then, he heard the sounds of faint fighting. _What in the world?_ he wondered. Who had broken in? Well, whoever it was, he hoped they knew that there was someone in here. He headed for the door. Seeing this, Norris quickly got in front of him.

"You can't get out without going through me. And I control your powers," he smirked.

"Like I need my powers to defeat you?" Curtis shot back. Without warning, Norris lunged at him, knocking him down. For a few minutes, each fought to gain the upper hand. Then, Curtis brought up a knee, hitting the man in the stomach. The agent groaned as Curtis quickly rolled over and then jumped to his feet. Before the man had a chance to recover, the boy lashed out with a kick, hitting him in the back. Then, he delivered a karate chop to back of the man's head, knocking him out. Silently, Curtis followed the sounds. When he finally made it to the front of the building, he was surprised to see Casey, her parents, and their friends fighting, Fowler, Darren, and some other men. _Well, why should they have all the fun?_ He wondered and then ran into the fray.

"Hey! The freak's escaped!" Fowler shouted. Immediately, he and the other agents spread out and headed for the boy. They weren't going to let their prisoner escape. Seeing the men heading for her boyfriend, Casey let her eyes go completely gold and she flipped through the air and then landed in front of Curtis, taking a defensive stance.

"Silly little girl. You have no idea just who you're messing with," Fowler said condescendingly.

"Funny. I was just about to say the same thing to you," Casey shot back.

"Sounds like someone needs to be put in her place," Darren stated, taking out a subdermal governor and heading for her. Seeing this, Brennan's eyes flashed and he summoned electricity to his hands and then thrust it at the man who screamed at the impact. This seemed to be a signal for Casey, Curtis, and the Mutant X team. They immediately attacked the agents and led them away from one another. The GSA Agents all fought their best, but were no match for the mutants. When the fight was finally over, the GSA agents lay in a heap with the mutants standing over them.

"Curtis! Oh, I was so worried!" Casey sighed, hugging her boyfriend.

"I was pretty scared myself," Curtis admitted. "So, how do we get this thing out of me?" he wondered, gesturing to the subdermal governor.

"I've got the tools in the van," Adam replied.

"Great. Could you call my mom and tell her we're on the way home?" Curtis requested.

"Of course," Adam replied and they went out of the building and back to the van. They all got inside the vehicle; Adam started the engine, and drove off as Casey dialed Curtis' home number.

"Hey, Mrs. Valentine. We've found Curtis and we're bringing him home," she reported. She listened for a few minutes. "Yeah, he's fine and anxious to see you." As they drove back to Curtis' home, Jesse delicately used the tools that had been in a black bag to grab the subdermal governor and gently take it out of the boy's neck.

"All right. That should do it," Jesse told him. "Now, you'll probably have a sore neck for a while," he continued.

"Hey, as long as I can use my powers without writhing in pain, I'm good," Curtis responded. After a while, they reached Curtis' house. Seeing the van from her living room window, Lorraine dashed out of her house and towards the vehicle. The car had barely stopped before Curtis unbuckled himself and ran up the drive.

"Curtis! Thank goodness you're okay!"

"Hey, Mom." Casey smiled. Things were relatively good. They had rescued Curtis and had reunited him with his mother.

"Dad, what about the guys who attacked the Valentine's? They're probably long gone by now, so what are we going to do?" Casey wondered.

"We're taking care of them. Don't worry about that," Brennan responded.

"Good," Casey approved, her eyes flashing gold. These guys weren't going to get away with what they had done. She'd see to it even if she had to do it alone.

"Come on. Let's go." With one last glance at her boyfriend and his mother, Casey followed the others to the car, got in, and buckled up as Adam started driving back in the direction they had come from. As they did so, the team discussed different strategies for handling the group, and as they talked, Casey's eyes shone a brilliant gold. Genomex was going to pay for what they had done to the Valentine's. She'd make sure of that, no matter what….


	9. Playing A Hunch

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

DISCLAIMER

Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Fireworks Entertainment, and Tribune. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot.

HOURS LATER

In a hotel room, Casey sat in a chair, hunched over the information that they had acquired on the men that had shot up _Delancey's Gym_. _Okay, so, thanks to the Valentine's information, we now know who we're looking for_, she thought to herself. It was a start at least. The men were new GSA agents looking to prove themselves to their bosses, each having had no previous ties to Genomex beforehand. Presently, Brennan came up behind her.

"Looking at the files?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered. He peered over her shoulder and frowned in concentration. There had to be something in these files that they could use to gain the upper hand. Their first file was on a man named Darrin Macon and according to what they had read, he was a long-time employee of Genomex, who had mostly stayed behind the scenes, running tests for Mason Eckhart and tracking down mutants. Now that Eckhart was dead, Fowler seemed to be taking a more active role in the company. The other two-Peter Norris and Trevor Fowler-had been recruited shortly after Eckart's death for their fighting skills and high intelligence. He let out a scoff at the last line. He hadn't seen much evidence of intelligence while they were fighting. However, he supposed that didn't really mean much. It could be that they weren't used to fighting mutants. Besides, they could've been more behind the scenes. Now that they had gone a few rounds with them, they'd probably be more prepared for them. The team would have to be likewise. They couldn't just let these guys run loose around Canada. If Genomex went global, there'd be no telling if they could be stopped. _That's a scary thought_, Brennan mused to himself. Presently, Adam came up to them.

"Any thoughts?" he questioned.

"None from me," Brennan confessed.

"The files are pretty bare minimum, so there's nothing more to these guys that we can see. Whoever made up these files are really good," Casey added.

"Yeah, you'd think they were better than Jesse and Adam combined," Shalimar stated.

"Bite your tongue," Jesse scolded.

"Yeah, no one's better than them," Casey added loyally. Jesse smiled and then reached over to ruffle the girl's hair. She pulled away and made a face at him.

"What am I, ten?" she mock-complained and the other man laughed. She then turned back to the files and frowned. There had to be something more to these guys than what was in the files. But what? What weren't they seeing? Brennan watched as his daughter once more perused the information and then let out a small smile as he shook his head. She was absolutely convinced that there was something more than what they were seeing. _Well, her hunches aren't often wrong, so I'll let her work a little while more_, he thought to himself. In some ways, she reminded him of her biological mother. The woman-Jessica Morrow-had had an uncanny knack for uncovering things that were hidden, no matter how deep, and Casey seemed to have the same trait. With another sigh, he shook his head again. He'd never understand why or how Jessica could give Casey up. She was the best thing to ever happen to him, with Shalimar coming a close second. Almost as if sensing his change in mood, Shalimar stepped closer to Brennan and put a hand on his shoulder. He leaned into his fiancée and let her comfort him. She then turned to watch Casey as she opened a laptop and typed in a name. She smiled. The girl was awesome on a computer, just like Jesse. She had mentioned it once to Brennan, and he told her that it was just like her mother. Hearing his sad voice, she hadn't pressed, but she still couldn't believe that someone would leave Casey…or Brennan. She blew out a soft breath and watched as Casey searched the web for the names.

"Whatcha lookin' for?" Shalimar questioned.

"Not sure. Just got a hunch," Casey replied.

"About what?" Shalimar asked.

"Fowler and Norris. I'm thinking there's more to them than meets the eye than some GSA stooges," Casey told her.

"What do you mean?" Shalimar queried.

"I can't explain it," Casey replied. As she talked, her fingers flew over the keyboard. Her brows furrowed. She knew those two looked familiar, but she couldn't figure out why. _What is it about these guys?_ she wondered to herself. And who were they working for? Who had reactivated Genomex? It didn't make sense. Shalimar looked over Casey's shoulder. What did she suspect? Whatever it was, it had to be big or she wasn't sure about something. But for some reason, she wasn't sharing. She watched as the younger girl continued to look over the files, trying different command combinations, all which led to denied access.

"What are trying to do?" Shalimar wondered.

"Playing out a hunch without tipping them off…hopefully," Casey responded as she continued working. A few minutes later, she let out a cry of happiness. "Got it!" she announced.

"What were you looking for?" Shalimar questioned.

"I thought that these guys looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. Then it hit me, and I hacked into their files and my hunch was right," Casey replied.

"What do you mean?" Shalimar asked.

"Fowler and Norris-when Eckhart first grabbed Dad-they ran the slave camp they tossed him in," Casey replied. Brennan turned to his daughter sharply. She had found them? She had found the guys?

"How do you know that?" Emma wondered.

"They had grabbed me a few weeks before he met you," Casey answered. "Why do you think he didn't go off half-cocked? He wanted to make sure I was okay first," she continued at their looks of surprise.

"So he planned on getting my help?" Emma asked, coming up to stand beside Shalimar.

"No. I think you and the team were just a happy accident," Casey replied, turning to look at them. Her eyes clouded. "I want them. I want them…**bad**…" Hearing the pain in his daughter's voice, Brennan walked over, bent down, and wrapped her in a hug. _Oh, Kiddo. It's okay. We'll make them pay_, he thought. He had never gotten a chance to make those two pay for grabbing and hurting Casey. Now he had the chance and he was going to take it…no matter what…


	10. Final Plans

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Beckah18: Yes I'm still writing. I've just been struggling with inspiration. Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. I'm trying to finish the story and will hopefully do so soon.

Ramen-luver101: Oh, don't worry. She will.

DISCLAIMER

No your eyes aren't deceiving you and yes this is actually an update. I've been struggling with inspiration but I haven't given up on any of my stories. Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Fireworks Entertainment, and Tribune. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot.

While this was going on, Darrin Macon, Peter Norris, and Trevor Fowler were at their hotel room, trying to come up a way to make up for what had happened.

"We need to figure something out-**fast**. The boss was most unhappy with our failure to keep the mutant, as well as not being able to take down his friends," Darrin stated.

"Don't worry, Darrin. We'll kill those freaks soon and Genomex will reward us immensely," Trevor assured him. The next thing he knew, Darrin had reared back a fist and had punched him in the face.

"Don't tell me not to worry! Our whole futures are riding on eliminating Mutant X!" the man roared.

"Yeah, I know that, Darrin. And that's what we all want: Mutant X's destruction. But you shouldn't let a little setback get you all worked up," Trevor responded. Darrin clenched his fist.

"'A little setback'?" he repeated angrily. "Is that what you call it?" he questioned. Peter and Trevor flinched nervously. Their boss was mad again. Even though the three were working together, for all intents and purposes, Darrin was the leader on this mission, and he had already proved that his temper could get explosive when things didn't go according to plan. And so far, **nothing** had gone according to plan on this mission. Darrin ground his teeth, glaring at the other two men. He couldn't believe that things were going so badly. How come they couldn't catch these problem mutants? It just didn't make sense. Genomex was vastly superior to these stupid mutants, so why couldn't they catch them and take them down? They **had** to get rid of these mutants. They were nothing but trouble. _This is crazy! There's no way these stupid mutants could get the best of us!_ he thought to himself. He had to prove to his new bosses that he and his men were worth keeping around. When Mr. Eckhart was alive, everyone had known of his value and reputation for taking care of problem mutants, except for Mutant X. Mutant X. They were the thorns in Genomex's side. They were the only mutants that they couldn't take down. And it drove him nuts. But he **would** take them down. No matter what he had to do or who had to kill to do it. And then, Genomex would see how valuable he really was and he could rise up in the ranks. Yes. He'd become one of Genomex's top agents. Darrin's features curved into a sinister smile at the thought. He couldn't **wait** until that happened. It'd be great. He'd do everything he could to live up to Mr. Eckhart's legacy. Of course, no one could be as good at controlling and eradicating problem mutants as Mr. Eckhart was, but he could **certainly** do his best. And that was why he wanted Mutant X now more than ever: they were keeping him from doing his best and that was just unacceptable. No one outsmarted him, especially not a group of ragtag riffraff. Yes, he would soon get rid of them and show the world just how valuable Genomex was to society. Mr. Eckhart would be so proud. And that was the important thing: making sure that Mr. Eckhart's legacy remained intact. He'd do it. He'd show everyone how valuable a worker he was. And once he did, he'd finally get the respect that he deserved. That was all that he really needed: the respect that his job demanded. And he would get that. He'd make sure of it. And then **he'd** be the one leading Genomex. Leading Genomex. Yeah, that'd be perfect. It was something to look forward to. So he was just going to calm down and re-strategize. While this was going, the Mutant X team was making a strategy of their own. Casey listened and nodded as Jesse out-lined the idea he and the others had come up with for taking down the newest members of Genomex. It was sounding good to her. And she couldn't **wait** to implement this. She'd show Genomex what happened when they messed with the people that she cared about. And Genomex **would** pay, she'd see to that. Emma stared at the young girl, her features expressing her concern. She could feel the rage and determination coming from the girl and she wasn't really sure what to think. She could certainly understand why she was feeling the way she was, but at the same time, she didn't want the girl going off half-cocked against these guys. But how could she advise her against this when she'd probably be doing the same thing if the situations were reversed?

"Don't worry, Casey. We'll take them down. We'll show them what Mutant X is made of," she finally stated.

"That's right. These guys are gonna learn just exactly why Eckhart had such a hard time defeating us," Jesse promised, coming up and placing a hand on her shoulder. He could certainly understand the younger girl's concern but he didn't want her freaking out either. They all needed to have clear heads when they fought and he only hoped that they could take care of them soon. He was tired of this. He wanted things to be calm again.

"These guys hurt me. They kept me captive and tried to use me to get to Dad. Then they went after my boyfriend and killed his father. I'm not going to let them just get away with that. We need to take them down hard and fast," Casey replied, her eyes flashing gold.

"And Jesse's idea will help us do that," Lexa promised. Then, once more, they more, they huddled over their plans, pointing out areas that they could enter the building from, any guards that they might come across, and what they could do to make sure that they broke up the newest faction of GSA agents.

"Okay, we have a plan," Brennan finally stated and Casey pulled out a cell phone and started dialing.

"What are you doing?" Jesse wondered.

"Curtis said that when we went in to take care of these guys, he wanted in," Casey replied.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Jesse asked in concern.

"He watched these people kill his father when he tried to protect him! If he wants to take care of them, I say he should go for it," she snapped as she waited for the call to go through.

"Yeah?" Curtis asked.

"We have a location and it's going down soon," Casey told him.

"Where and when?" he questioned and the girl told him what they had discovered and when they would be going in. "I'll be there." They hung up and Casey turned to the others, a look of determination on her face.

"Let's get these guys." Everyone nodded. They were going to get these guys. Genomex was going down. There was no way that they were going to let these guys get away with what they had done. Justice **would** be served. Hopefully, this would all be over soon…


	11. Attack

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Ramen-luver101: Yup.

DISCLAIMER

Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Fireworks Entertainment, and Tribune. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney.

Several Minutes later, Brennan, Shalimar, Jesse, Emma, Lexa, Casey, and Curtis were back at the warehouse. However, this time, they had spread out, each one taking a different section of the building. They had a mission and they were going to do it. Genomex wasn't going to get away with what they had done. Oh no. They would learn what happened when someone messed with Mutant X and the people they cared about. Eckhart's cronies needed to learn that Mutant X wasn't going to back down. Genomex could try as hard as they wanted, but they'd never win. Casey's eyes were a brilliant gold as she looked around furtively, all of her senses on alert. _Okay now, remember the plan_, she coached herself. She had her orders and she was going to make sure she followed it. If everything went as smoothly as they planned, they'd be in and out fairly quickly. But of course, they weren't expecting things to be **that** simple, so everyone was on high alert, preparing themselves for a counterattack. But even if there **was** a bit of a scuffle, it would all work out in the end. It **had** to.

"Nothing here. How about you? Anything yet?" she heard her father ask over her comlink.

"Nope," she answered. And she didn't like that one little bit. It was too quiet. She didn't like quiet. So yeah, all of her senses were on high alert. And she was sure Curtis was feeling the same way. And why should he be? He was about to take on the people who had killed his father and had kidnapped him. Anyone would be buzzed, but for a feral, it was amplified. But that was okay. In fact, it would probably help him if and when they had to fight. But they'd cross that bridge when they got there and not a moment before. Okay, she needed to focus here. Focus was key. As they patrolled their part of the warehouse, Curtis glanced at Casey. _How can she be so calm?_ he wondered. Then again, he had more reason to be agitated than his girlfriend. They were going up against the guys who had killed his father and had kidnapped him. Sure the stakes were higher for him, but he knew that it didn't mean that his girlfriend didn't want these guys just as badly as he did. In fact, she probably wanted it a little more given the fact that she had once been kidnapped by them presumably as leverage against her own father. But then again, she still had her father. His was dead. These Genomex punks had killed him. And for what? Because he had just been trying to protect his family? That had earned him a bullet in the head? No, these guys weren't going to get away with it at all. In another part of the warehouse, Brennan and Shalimar looked around furtively; Shalimar's eyes a brilliant gold.

"You picking anything up?" Brennan queried.

"I smell them, but I don't hear them. It's quiet. Too quiet," Shalimar replied. _I'm not sure I like this_, she thought to herself. "Emma, I'm not picking anything up, how about you?" she asked into her comlink.

"They're here. I can sense them. They're just not making a lot of noise which is why Shal probably can't pick them up real well," Emma responded.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Shalimar agreed, her voice indicating her displeasure with that little fact.

"Don't worry, Shal. You'll get your chance at these guys," Emma assured her friend with a chuckle. _She wants them so bad_, she thought to herself. And she couldn't really blame her. These were the men that had attacked her family and ferals-especially Shalimar-were **notorious** for protecting their family. Suddenly, from various parts of the warehouse, Fowler and his men came out to meet the team.

"Foolish, foolish, mutants. You've stepped right into our trap," Fowler sneered at Casey and Curtis.

"More like you've stepped into ours," Casey corrected as her eyes went gold. Almost simultaneously, she let loose with an electric stream, knocking him back, which seemed to be a catalyst for Curtis, who immediately lunged at the man on Fowler's left. The man was a pretty good fighter, but Curtis had youth and rage on his side and made short work of him just as Casey finished up with another man, having gone hand-to-hand with him after Fowler had been disposed of. In other parts of the warehouse, the other members of Mutant X had been just as successful. With a collective groan, Fowler and his men picked themselves up and hurried out of the building and into their respective cars, each man heading a different direction. They'd be back of course, but they needed to regroup. They had underestimated this group of mutants and they couldn't do that again. Soon after, the Mutant X team also left, heading for the Helix, which they had used to reach the warehouse. Once they were inside the jet, they both summoned energy to their fingertips and then aimed the stream at the building which exploded into sparks, causing the group to smile at each other in satisfaction. That was one Genomex controlled building gone. And it felt **damn** good. Not that it meant that Genomex was gone by any means, but they knew it was a start. And as starts went, this was a pretty good one. And when Genomex made their next move, they'd be ready.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

All that's left is the epilogue.


	12. Epilogue: Back In Action

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Rogue angel (Guest) (Ch 6): Well, this is the last chap and I hope you enjoy.

Ramen-luver101: Yup.

DISCLAIMER

Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios, Fireworks Entertainment, and Tribune. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney.

MONTHS LATER

Curtis panted as he chased the GSA agent down the street. Man, he **still** couldn't believe this was his life. But it was worth it. They were taking on an agency that was a potential menace and with every agent that he took down, the better he felt. Granted, it didn't bring his father back, but he knew the work he was doing now would make the man proud of him. Plus, truth be told, it was kind of a rush. However, he wasn't sure if that was because of how he had gotten into this line of work or because he was a feral and thrived on the adrenaline. Maybe it was a little bit of both. He'd have to ask Casey. He then pushed this thought aside and smirked as he noted that the man was going down a dead-end road. He and the others had him now. As he chased after him, he heard the sounds of a car coming towards him at an increased speed and the boy jumped into the air, twisted around, and then landed on the hood of the car, smirking at the driver's look of surprise.

"Going somewhere?" he quipped as the car came to a stop. Then, he did a back flip off of the vehicle, dodging the driver's punch. Almost immediately, the man got out, aiming a gun at him. Curtis' eyes shone a brilliant gold as he let out a roundhouse, knocking the gun out of his hands. The man lunged at him, but the boy merely intercepted the attack, throwing him over his shoulders. Almost immediately, other GSA agents came at them, followed by the other members of Mutant X and the two groups started fighting, the GSA using their weapons and combat skills, while Mutant X relied on their combat skills and their powers. Several minutes later, the agents retreated and Mutant X grinned at each other.

"Adam, how are the Martins doing?" Jesse asked into his comlink.

"They made it into the Underground and they send their thanks," Adam reported.

"Well, then, let's go home," Shalimar stated and they all headed to the jet. In the new Sanctuary, Adam leaned back in his chair, a smile on his face. It was official: Mutant X was back.


End file.
